so we can all produce energy more safely. bp's also committed to america. we support nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. the road to 20116 paved with potential candidates but one keeps looking more and more inevitab inevitab inevitable. good saturday to you, i'm craig melvin, you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. >> these were two tremendously good and moral people. >> services held yesterday for the slain texas district attorney and his wife. the possible connection between white supremacists and their killings, we have fresh new

information on that. a little bit later, actor wendell pierce is talking about what he is dog get his hometown of new orleans back on his feet. a lot to get to this saturday afternoon. we start, we begin with brinksmanship. tension continues to grow today on the korean peninsula, north korean missile remain in place and foreign diplomats are decide building to heed warnings from the north korean government that they should leave the country. nbc's jim maceda is live for us in seoul, south korea. jim, it seems that every day, we are closing to a conflict in that part of the world. what's the sense of urgency where you are? >> reporter: hi, craig. well, there is obviously a sense of urgency, i'm coming to you from seoul, so there's less -- it's less obvious here than it would be up on the dmz or in north korea. still, there is a sense of you are generalcy. there is a sense this has been ramping up every day since february. and people are worried.

very hard to get south koreans to talk about their emotions. those that do tell us something say they are upset, they are nervous, they are worried, mo probably more worried than they have been for a number of years. i have got to tell you, craig, the first time since this latest crisis began, the opposing sides seem to be stepping back from the brink today. it's not just me feeling this. we have heard no new threats from the north korean leader, kim jong-un, or from his government today. that's the first time in over a week there hasn't been one. the peninsula is still on the war footing, obviously. the north has those two massive but untested missiles on mobile launchers pointing east as we speak, meaning in the direction of guam or even pointing at closer u.s. bases in japan. mean while, both the u.s. and south korea are tracking the

north's every move. you know there are ships, destroyers, just off the coast of korea tracking that, but the tension today, at least, doesn't feel like it's mounting. the u.s. is trying to dial it down. the f-22 super fighters, the bombers, we don't see them now. they have been put on hold. there is even talk again, craig, of diplomacy, cousouth koreans looking to spend a special envoy to reengage with the north, secretary of state john kerry is expected to be looking for newer approaches as well in north korea when he arrives here in the region next week. craig, feels today, like a breather, everybody wants to step back and create room. who knows how long that will last? >> jim maceda from seoul, south

korea, thanks. check back with you later in the program. new developments in a story we have been following very closely here. former south african president nelson mandela was discharged from the hospital today. he is now back at home. the president was hospitalized march 27th. he was being treated for pneumonia there. we will go live to south africa as well a little bit later in the show for the latest on nelson mandela's condition. to our political headlines on this saturday afternoon. after a three-hour flight delay, secretary of state john kerry is wheels up to istanbul, turkey. he will also be visiting jerusalem, ramallah, london, seoul, beijing and tokyo on this trip. his wife, theresa heinz kerry, is also along for the ride, we are told. in d.c., the fbi paid a visit to the home of former cia director, david petraeus yesterday. we do not know whether petraeus was home at the time but the fbi is still investigating whether his former mistress, paula broadwell, ever had improper acce

access to classified information. president obama is playing golf with white house staffers, taking criticism from republicans of late who suggested that money spent on secret service for weekend golf outings would be better spent on reopening the white house for tours. and they're back. after their two-week easter recess, congress and the senate head back to washington monday. so what will they do once they're there? ab stoddard from the hill, ala hay azbladdy from the national journal and evan mcmorris from buzz feed, thanks for being with me. >> hey. >> ella hay, we will start with you, what can we expect to see from the house in terms of gun control when they return this week? >> we will see possibly a gun control package put on the senate floor this package will probably not include an assault weapons ban, won't include high-capacity had magazine he

is. >> whatever bill we get, what he ever we finally see it is going to be so watered down there, is is a good chance it might not even be that effective? >> yeah. you know exit's interesting, you will see public polling showing that the vast majority of americans support expanding background checks, but within that polling, you see a lack of intensity on that issue, on those sentiments, are the intensity behind expanding background checks is on the side of those who are trying to loosen gun control restrictions. >> ab, you wrote recently in part, quote no matter what gun control bill passes the senate and highly likely none will, the national rifle association has

already won this round. why is that? how did they do it? >> the nra and other groups on their side have been pressuring key republicans and some red state democrats who were interested in some compromise on background checks, never assault weapons ban or limiting high-capacity magazines so they biff votd their assault to if you can excuse the word, their pressure campaign to background checks seen, now senator chuck grassley introducing a bill that has some other school safety stuff and some straw purchasing provision bus nothing on background checks, sort of a fall back piece of legislation should you see republican filibuster mounted against any democratic bill that would include background checks and it is true that there is a very strong monster majority in this country, over 90% in favor of background checks, among nra members themselves and gun owners themselves but the side, backing new restriction, isn't

breaking through. the members who are elected, the democrats running for re-election in states were mitt romney really crushed president obama, they can't do this without republican cover. republicans are now saying, no, we can't move on background checks. and so despite the national polling, which is -- which group is winning, the nra and its aligned groups are winning. >> evan, perhaps a more pressing issue for the house is a deal on immigration reform. what kind of negotiations have been going on behind the scenes during the break? >> a loft to discussion on immigration, all over tv, in public, behind the scenes, every where. i feel like at this point, the guns, which we just discussed, at this point, most observers feel like immigration has got a bill a better chance of proceeding than gun does now. there's still a lot to do on guns, obama's going to do a big push next week in connecticut.

>> you have covered lobbyists for a long time now, who is the immigration lobby? >> what's interesting is now you're seeing business groups and unions coming together to push for immigration reform so it's really not the usual suspects who have now become allies and friends in many ways, business leaders wanting to see immigration reform. really, immigration reform is an issue that there's a big political incentive for republicans to want to compromise on. after the 2012 elections and president obama winning over 70% of the hispanic vote, that was a real wakeup call to national republicans that it's until their best interest to come up with a plan to try and move on immigration reform. >> gun control immigration, the other big topic this week that we are looking at, of course, the white house budget set to be

released on wednesday. evan, you write part of the white house's strategy seems to be deliberately stoking deliberate outrage. why? >> put this in context first. when obama came in to the second term, after the democratic defeat in 2010, progressives were feeling pretty down, thought obama was willing to compromise too much with the new republicans that came in after 2010 and once he got relike the and reelected on a platform that progressives pretty much liked, talked about raising taxes on the rich, came in and with him came in all the new progressive senators, like elizabeth warren in massachusetts, a sense from some on the left that they were hoping that the new budget, we just sort of have a game reset on this, obama won the election, reset his whole budget tactics and negotiating tactics and when this budget came out, which includes cuts to entitlement program and chances in how they work, i felt like there was, you know, my e-mail blew up with a lot of really upset and sort of

frustrated progressives, i felt like, okay, hey, we won, how much more do we have to do to get the president to back off some of this stuff? and so that's sort of where we are at right now. i'm not certain -- the white house says that what they are doing is a budget that's can actually pass, a budget that's can actually sell to republicans and, you know, he has to have put some compromise in it everybody has to take hits. but the left is not really willing to hear that on this stuff. >> here is the thing with all three budgets, senator murray's budget, whether they are looking at a house budget, the white house budget, none of these budgets on their face, ab, appears to be passable, so, what's going to give sneer what kind of budget are we going to be looking at? is it going to be a budget that's more closely align you had with the white hou-- aligne house budget or closely aligned with the other two aforementioned budgets? >> the fact the white house leased a budget like this, a break with the past is a really good sign that president obama

wants to move more to the center and embrace entitlement reform, he's given lip service for seven years. trying to find savings in social security there, he knows that is a starting point. he is saying it is his ending point, democrats say that better be the ending point. that's you why see republicans like the house majority leader eric cantor say we will wait and see. house speaker john boehner tried to say this isn't enough. truly if they get to the table and begin negotiating around an increase in the debt ceiling, the president plans to give more and at this point, he need he is to for a legacy and any kind of proves spoechblts meaningful other reforms in the area of education or energy and getting immigration across the finishing line, president obama needs to get out of the fiscal hole that we are n we can't keep the promises that we made. he knows that. he said it before.

next, who and what could be behind the murders of a texas d.a. and his wife? later, shhillary clinton is making waves about 2016. but so is rick perry and others. ? no. we got nothing. we just bought our first house, we're on a budget. we're not ready for spring. well let's get you ready. very nice. you see these various colors. we got workshops every saturday. yes, maybe a little bit over here. this spring, take on more lawn for less. not bad for our first spring. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. black friday is back but not for long. right now get bonnie 4 and 5 inch herbs and vegetables, he knows that.

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these were two tremendously good and moral people who served the community so well. they thought the county was a

place where all should be proud to live. >> funeral services were held yesterday in texas for kauffman county district attorney mike mclelland and his wife, cynthia. the couple was shot to death in their home last week two months after the unsolved shooting death of assistant kauffman county district attorney, mark has i is at this point it looks like white supremacist group pushing the aryan brotherhood of texas, could be behind the crimes. those killings echo another apparent hate crime, the murder of colorado's department of corrections chief tom clements killed by white supremacist grourng the 211 crew. we turn now to senior fellow at the southern poverty law center around expert on extremism and hate groups, mark poe to be. what do we know about how linked the crimes are in text and colorado? >> similar, might have been carried out by white supremacist prison gangs, much stronger for

that in colorado than in texas. the interesting thing, the killer of tom clements, the head of the colorado department of corrections, turns out to be a man named evan ebalance. two days after the shooting, he fled to north texas, got into a shootout with police there and was killed. the intriguing police is where that shootout occurred in texas was a mere 100 miles from kauffman, texas, which is, of course, where mike mclelland was district attorney. >> mark do hate crimes like these happen often or a rise right now for some reason? reason to believe more of the type of violence is being plotted for the near future? >> no i think the reality is that these kind of attacks on prosecutors and high-ranking officials are incredibly rare.

prosecutors 20 years of american history. it is really very remarkable. also surprising if the gangs are behind the killings and order by gang leaders that's remark act, gangs don't generally seek to bring down the enormous amount of heat they will bring down on their head it is they were behind the killings. >> motivated by just pure hatred or other factors as well like drugs, extortion? >> the crews are heavy involved in methamphetamine trafficking and the trafficking of other serious drugs. these are multimillion dollar operations, in the case of aryan brotherhood of texas, they are multimillion dollar operation that's been hurt severely by a crackdown, both by federal and local law enforcement officials.

a 34 members of the group last november, including you 34 generals and top leaders arrested, were indicted. that was a mere month before the texas department of public safety put out a memo warning prosecutors and other officials that the area brotherhood was planning massive retaliation a month before that the first prosecutor murder and two months after that his boss. >> mark potok, southern poverty law center. we appreciate your insight. thank you. >> a pleasure. how a star of stage and screen is bringing relief to what's being called the food desert. later, hop in our little red corvette, party like it's 1999, and laugh through the purple rain, as msnbc's toure tells us, how prince ran a revolution. you're watching msnbc. [ male announcer ] this is george.

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what do you think your sister's chances are against mr. sanford, now she knows she is running against him? >> i think it's good. it's good, i'm happy. >> do you plan on going down there and campaigning? >> i will help my sister any way i can. >> that is stephen colbert on capitol hill yesterday talking to nbc about his sister's campaign for the house seat from south carolina. just this week, armed with some glue and glitter, colbert said he was ready to join the poster committee for elizabeth colbert bush's campaign. into the playground we go on that, president obama the first mention here, thursday night the president called to personally apologize to his friend and political al like california's attorney general, kamala harris. at a fund raiser that day, mr. obama said "she also happens to be, by far, the best looking attorney general in the

country." is kamala harris in here? some said his comment objectivefied women. get into it later on the show. the first lady a slip of topping of her own, a local tv interview, accidentally called herself a single mom. >> believe me, as a busy single mother or -- i shouldn't say single, as a busy mother, sometimes sometimes you have got the president who is president, it can feel single but he is there. before coming to the white house, i was in that position as well. vice president biden makes it into the playground yet again with his latest episode of being biden, in which he comes face to face, literally, with another potential 2016 candidate at an event in washington this week. take a look. >> hillary and i strongly believe that any cultural norm that results in the guise of religion or righteousness, that

results in discounting or disenfranchising, disrespecting, berating or battering a woman is simply not acceptable. >> what makes the being biden segment so interesting, if you go to the website, it's those pictures and his voice underneath. it's -- anyway. coming up, reading the tea leaves on hillary's week that was. plus, a special anniversary this week. in case you haven't heard, the cell phone turns 40. here's a look at how washington's elite have evolved with their hand-helds over the years. check that out. you are watching msnbc. changing the world is exhausting business.

with the innovating and the transforming and the revolutionizing. it's enough to make you forget that you're flying five hundred miles an hour on a chair that just became a bed. you see, we're doing some changing of our own. ah, we can talk about it later. we're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time. the new american is arriving. pope francis is speaking out against sex abuse in the catholic church. the newly installed pope says the church needs to act decisively to stop and punish priests to sexually abuse

children. i'm craig melvin. good saturday to you. here is quick look at other top stories making news now. four americans killed in separate attacks in afghanistan today. one american civilian was killed in an insurgent attack in southern afghanistan. three more u.s. troops were killed in afghanistan in a separate attack today. the death toll in thursday's building collapse in mumbai, india, has now climbed to at least 72. local officials say the seven-story building was made with poor materials and was also made without proper zoning approvals. a new strain of the bird flu killed six people in china. officials are slaughtering chickens to stop the disease from spreading there. in this country, u.s. officials say at this point, there have been no reported bird flu cases. you mention 2016 and democrat it is and hillary clinton is the first name that continues to pop up. the former secretary of state remains the most talked about democratic possibility to replace president obama in the

white house. but is a clinton presidential campaign really in the cards? to the war room we go msnbc's karen fin snail former communications director for the democratic national committee, last former spokesperson for then-first lady hillary clinton and also msnbc contributor robert traynham is here, traynham, a former bush/cheney senior adviser and former aide to rick santorum, we are going to talk about there a moment. good see both of you. two of my favorite war roomers. mrs. clinton, non-committal about her future political plans, maggie haberman writing in politico, of all the possible 2016 candidates, clinton can most afford to take her time deciding. how long is too long, robert traynham, when does mrs. clinton have to make a dei? >> good saturday to you you krachlg i believe that secretary clinton can probably wait until maybe the beginning of next year. you know, she has some time on her hands because, quite frankly, she is one of the rare

individuals, currently reminds me of george w. bush back in 2000, where the political establishment will wait for her to make up her mind. in other words, she doesn't need any influencing, they don't need any influencing, they will wait. and when they -- when they make up their mind, obviously, going to go with her f she announces she is not going to runs, obviously, going to run to vice president biden. but she has time on her side and she can dictate her own timeframe r >> karen is that an assessment, a timetable that you agree with? >> i agree with the timetable, though i disagree slightly with the assessment in that i think there will be a lot of energy toward -- the longer it goes, the more donors will actually put some pressure on because, look, if she is not gonna run, a lot of the donors going to hold back until they know what she's gonna do as we know, unfortunately, campaigns take a lot of money. and so, if you're thinking of running and you're waiting to see what she's gonna do you want to know sooner rather than later you want to start hoarding those donors as we are seeing on the

republican side in ways. >> you know, craig? i agree with karen 99.9% of this but the only .1% is she is hillary clinton. she is different. so i think donors -- look, she is in the driver's seat here. most candidates are in the not driver's seat from a financial standpoint. i have a sneaky suspicious she can at the time donors wait a minute to make up my mind. >> david frum argues this hillary clinton in 2016 would be a mistake for democrats. he writs on cnn.com, "democrats will need to offer innovation in 2016. if hillary clinton glides into the nomination in 2016 on the strength of money, name recognition and a generalized feeling of it's her turn, then democrats will forgo this necessary renewal." what do you think about this point? >> i think no politician should ever try to say it's my turn. and i think that was a mistake that she made the last time, particularly because it was a change election and she has been

a change agent so much of her life. i think president obama spoke to that in people. what i do believe, however, is in the next election, i think people are going to want to see a continuation of the progressive policies that president obama has put in place you if the facts continue to bear out that those are in mine line with where a majority of you americans r that if that is the case, whether hillary clinton or whom as far running is going to have to make, innovation but the continuation of the ideas and the policies that we are seeing right now. >> we spent a lot of time talking about hillary clinton and vice president joe biden, robert traynham, he he is heading to the palmetto state next month, going to be the keynote speaker at south carolina's jefferson jackson dinner. how does joe biden, america's happy warrior fit into the democrats, their plans to keep control of the white house? >> look, it's a very awkward position for him to be in as we mentioned, hillary clinton is the big person in the room. however, if i'm joe biden or

senior adviser, say mr. vice president, keep doing what you're doing, keep running as if hillary clinton is not in the ray because it does two things, one, makes you relevant and keeps you relevant in the game, secondly, again no guarantee that hillary clinton is going to run. one would suspect that she is going to run, but vice president biden should do exactly what any person running for president should do and that is going to new hampshire, going to south carolina, maintaining donor relations and also thus in the process creating your own identity. if i can go back one second? >> sure. go ahead. >> karen made a very good point, every single person running for president, even running for re-election, should run as a change agent f you believe it's your turn, you're dead in the water, i think hillary clinton realizing that, the main reason why she is not going to be the status quo politician if she runs in 2016. >> you notice robert traynham sucking up now that you have the show? >> right. right. >> oh, she's got great points, i agree with her 99% of the time. stop it.

>> robert and i do tend to agree a lot. >> that's -- >> i don't get the whole -- there's a lot we don't don't agree on, a lot we agree on. >> before i let you both get out of here, go to the other end of the spectrum, let's talk about your boy, rick santorum, robert traynham. you work with santorum for a while. told news max wednesday he is not ruling out a 2016 run. santorum's -- his message, his platform, how is that going to play in a postdoma world and a party that says it wants to spend less time talking about social i shall snunchts you say dome marks you mean defense of marriage act, senator santorum is a deer karr friend of mine, however, he is on the wrong side of history when it comes to gay mar. an i have been very, very clear around adamant about that, and i think i'm right. remind ourselves that senator santorum did, in fact, win the iowa caucuses three and a half years ago. also remember that add phenomenal fund-raising machine in place and he was taken very,

very seriously dur you can the republican nomination. so, you know, he is relevant. no question about it. >> he was taken seriously by some. >> well, okay, but according to the polls and accord together fund-raising numbers, he was relevant by many republicans who vote in republican primarieser. >> all this speculation, giving a speech here, visit these donors there and i'm not ruling thought, a lot of that is people are test the waters to see what their viability is, to see if there's an audience to see if they can garner support. because even if they don't end up running for office or being a nominee, there's an element of wanting to be a little bit of a kingmaker or staying relevant and being part of the process. i feel like that's lot of what we are seeing now. of course, newt gingrich is even saying he is not going to rule it out because he wants to stay relevant. i think that's part of what santorum is doing. in part, because the republican

party in the base is so fractured, you are going to continue to see a lot of this because again, people are trying to figure out where there maybe coalitions they can put together to amass the power, you know, and sort of the resources needed for a run. >> how much of this is also, quite frankly, just about paying bills? you're pushing a book, you're giving speeches. >> sure. >> some of these folks, they have got debts, that's gonna do it here for the war room. but while i have both of you here, i would be remiss if i did not formally congratulate you on the air, karen finney. >> thank you. >> the weekend neighborhood -- about to go classier here. >> that's right. >> very excited. got folks cleaning out an office for you. >> all right. thank you. >> amen to that, craig, congratulations, my friend. >> thanks, you guys. >> he continues to lobby for a permanent shot sport on this show. robert, good to see you, my friend. take care. >> bye. next, a man must have are a code. and our next guest has focused his on the big easy, hometown,

star of "the wire" and "trim may," wendell pierce, one cool dude and a cool project, we will talk about that. plus you can from the revolution to the artist, prince has been a power house of american pop music for a long time now. later, by friend and colleague, toure, a new book about the man and the myth. [ mom ] with my little girl, every food is finger food. so i can't afford to have germy surfaces. but after one day's use, dishcloths can redeposit millions of germs. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to a fresh sheet of new bounty duratowel. look! a fresh sheet of bounty duratowel leaves this surface cleaner than a germy dishcloth, as this black light reveals. it's durable, cloth-like and it's 3 times cleaner. so ditch your dishcloth and switch to new bounty duratowel. the durable, cloth-like picker-upper.

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how did sterling farms grocery store come about? >> sterling farms grocery store is a grocery store that goes into underserved communities, designated as food deserts, or other american businesses decide issed to stand on the sideline and not service them, we decided to step up the plate and service them. food desert, people over a mile or a half an hour away from just a decent grocery store, where you can have access to fresh foods. there was a plague in new orleans, a lot of food deserts, people didn't have access to just the decent grocery store, to have the choice of fresh food, like produce, fruit, vegetables. so we decided to do well and do good, create a new grocery store chain and sterling farms was born. >> access to quality food, not just a problem in new orleans. the federal government has designated some 6500 food

deserts across this country, areas, as you just noted, people have limited access to fresh and nutritious food. since you started the project, what have you learned about the limited access to healthy food in this country? >> a lot of times, people ask me how are you going to change the behavior of people, wend winn dell? how will you get them to make those good choices instead of the bad choices? i say before you can do that they have to have the ability to make a choice. have the access. and that's what food justice is really all b just a decent grocery store, not reeninvestigate the wheel or anything here, just doing something that we take for granted in communities where i've lived and where i live now, where i have access to several different choices, several different stores. there's so many communities, as you said, across this country that don't have that choice. before we can do anything, make the decision to exercise your right of self-determination. we wanted to bring in pa new economic engine along with a grocery store. that's how you end the food

desert pandemic. >> you just used a term i haven't used before, but i'm going to start using, food justice. >> absolutely. >> have you thought about expanding the concept of sterling farms to other locations around the country? >> absolutely you next week, meeting with the mayor of denver. we have had inquiries from st. louis, pensacola, a second home of mine is baltimore where i did "the wire," for years, love to take it there the meantime we still want to go right here in new orleans. we still haven't had an opportunity to go to the lower ninth ward, one of the biggest food deserts here and we hope to kind of clear some of the hurdle there is that we have with the city to make sure we go into something that is identifiable, as one of the most needy neighborhoods in new orleans, that is the lower ninth ward what sterling farms is b >> i do have to ask but this new gig your bea to start on, i understand you've signed on to be part of the michael j. fox series set to start here on nbc later this year? >> yes. >> what's going to be your role in that show? >> i'm going to be a news director. >> i love it.

i love it. >> i'm going to be a news director who is trying to get michael j. fox to come back on air on a local new york affiliate for nbc. so, we shot -- we actually shot right there in new york. >> yeah, i remember when you were shooting in the hall way, couldn't even walk around. >> we took over 30 rock. >> you did. rolled deep. >> a great show. michael j. fox is very talented, i'm going to be commuting back and forth from no, to new orleans, sterling farms. >> fantastic concept, wendell pierce, down in new orleans, i'm glad you did it. >> one other thing i just wanted to say. >> sure. >> if you take the time and energy and effort to come to our store, you buy $50 worth of groceries, we are going to give you a free ride home. >> really? >> we know that is part of the issue. people have -- don't have access because they may not have a personal car. take public transportation, walk to the store, we will give you a ride home at sterling farms, if you buy the groceries. >> i would imagine that's concept that has gone over especially well some of the elderly people? >> absolutely. absolutely.

>> wendell pierce, actor around activist, thank you, sir, do appreciate your time. >> thank you, craig. prince and god. my second favorite artist of all time, a bona fide pop icon. why? how it all happened. my friend and colleague, toure , is here, tag golden gate to talk about this new book he has out on prince. come right back. and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ [ male announcer ] book ahead and save up to 20 percent at doubletree.com, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy. doubletree by hilton. where the little things mean everything. from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you.

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the record industry, they tend to promote things that are more salacious and hit-driven, i guess, to use a term. >> that was the artist currently known as prince talking to matt lauer back in 2004 when he was promoting his new album, "musicology." there is a new book out on the singer/songwriter and artist making some bold assertions, among them, prince has been teaching us about jesus through

his music. the book is called "i would die for you." why prince became an icon, a familiar face bro wrote that book, toure is co-host of "the cycle." i like the tie. >> you know. >> prince was delivering this simple message about jesus, essentially. what was the message? >> well, he -- a very traditional christian message of follow god, follow jesus, reject the devil, sometimes he called the devil spooky electric, these sort of things. even in "let's go crazy," he starts the song with a sermon, talking about this life is harder because this life, you're on your own, you don't have god and jesus there with u in this life you're relying over everything, doctor everything will be all right, those pillser, the next life will be easier. whenever he is talking about the

apocalypse that song, 1999, he sang there is great, going to heaven, excited to die, welcome to the dauchblt he is constantly telling us, you know, god is right, gees u.s. is is right, not like madonna's icon know clasp, not "sympathy for the develop" the "rolling stone"s but songs about god, christopher tracy, he is talking about jesus. >> they said look at it through our lens, the music is different. one thing i learned, seventh day adventists think ate pock lips

is always around the concern, must be always prepared, so songs from prince like that as well they feel like before the apocalypse comes, world will be at his worst, songs of sign of the times, america, the world a at its worst because that means ate pock lips is about to come. later in life, he becomes a jehovah's witness and more people talked about that but nobody has written about prince and seventh day adventism and i wanted to talk about that >> arguably his most popular song "purple rain" stayed symbolizes baptism. >> absolutely. >> walk us through that. >> water is constantly a baptist mall symbol in all sort of art. in the last verse, he is talking about you know, you want a leader, you can't -- you need to make up your mind, close it and let me guide you to the purple rain and the whole song, the first two verses talking about redempti redemption, somebody in the last moments of a relationship, you're in the last moment of a relationship, you feel guilty, you blame the other person,

won't be able to walk away feeling no guilt. he allows the character that. so he is redeeming and then say follow me, i'm one. i mean, there's constantly messages of i'm the messiah, right? and i would die for you, i'm the messi messiah, the first movie before "purple rain" didn't get finished is called "the second coming." >> did not know that. >> what is he trying to activate in trying to make a movie called the second coming? >> in addition to singing a lot about god, prince sings a whole lot about, he sings about sex a lot. >> absolutely. >> you write in your book "for him, sex and religion are simby antibioticic." he believed that sex was part of worship and lust came from god. so it can't be wrong. >> i spoke to a loft in the

revolution, tour managers, ex-girlfriends, talked to him the spir ritual urge and lustful urge came from the same play, he believed they came from the same place, god put them in us, so they can't be wrong. this is a prechristian idea that we can worship god through sex, you know, so this is not like god is closing his eyes when you have sex. he want us to be happy. he wants us to be happy. of course you should you can having sex. have sex like a door, where they are having sex and the angels are watching and crying tears of joy because the love is so passionate, i mean, you know, like heaven is not judging us negatively, they want us to enjoy ourselves while we're here. >> what made you write the book? >> a couple of things? skip gates, when i was doing my last book asked know do some lectures at harvard. he said, okay, i'm going to write about the relationship between prince and general racial x. then kurt cobain and rem, tupac, that general x title.

we spent two years mourning michael jackson, that was right. he deserved that took a breath. >> prince. >> this other guy, maybe give him love before he is gone. >> toure, thank you so much request i would die for you," a fantastic read so far. could bottom out. >> that's great. >> so far, a fantastic read. thank you so much. >> the last chanter is the high point. stick with t. >> that's a good tease. you're a tv guy. you're a tv guy. of course, toure is here on "the cycle" every weekday you 3:00 eastern, right here on msnbc. pick up a copy of toure's took "i would die for you, why prince became an icon." coming up, signs of hope in south africa as nelson mandell virginia discharged from the hospital there today. we will go there live for a report. a little bit later, immigration tops the d.c. agenda monday. talk to one congressman who

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good saturday afternoon, i'm craig melvin. you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. before reform gets its moment on capitol hill, one lawmaker says not so fast. we will talk to him this hour. plus, ever wonder what it's like to hang with the president every day, all day? i'm going to talk to a guy who did just that for eight years. with march madness wrapping up, a look at the true cost, the true cost, of being a college athlete. get to those stories in a moment. first, former south african president nelson mandela is resting at home today. he was discharged from the hospital earlier this morning after a ten-day stay. nbc's ron allen is in johannesburg. and ron, first of all, what do we know about nelson mandela's

current condition? >> reporter: we don't know a lot of detail, craig. the statement of his release was cryptic, he showed sustained and gradual improvement. he had pneumonia, we know he has a chronic reoccurring lung problems, infections, so forth. he was in the hospital for about ten or 11 days. this is the third time in the past four months he has been in the hospital. this time, he was raced to the hospital at night. it wasn't anything routine. he is 94 years old. he will be 95 in july. at this point, he is home, this is a positive sign. i don't think anybody has any illusions he made a full, remarkable recovery, no language like that i think relief he is well enough to be home but concern how his overall health is. is he in any wayne? is he in any discomfort? so on, so forth. not a lot of detail but relief he has taken this step home. >> one of the things that i found especially interesting, about a week ago, the

government, especially jacob zuma, issued the statements saying, you know what nelson mandela, he is 94. we should all basically sort of prepare ourselves, when someone somewhere 94 years old, they are not going to live forever. >> exactly krachlg the government here has been trying to be as respectful as possible to conduct all of these affairs in as dignified a way as possible. every time we have one of these health scares, there's a lot of angst around the world, certainly in this country what seems inevitable, what is inevitable, obviously, but again, a very, very delicate subject. i was talk with a local journalist, how do they feel? when this happens, it will be the end of the world, hard to imagine how important mandela is to this nation. there's all of that but at this point, again, we take these

things, each time they come up. his health not tip top, not great. didn't say anything about a full recovery and he is getting something called home-based high care is the wording. >> is that hospice? >> not sure what that means in this culture. some people have asked that and the answer is no. it's been described by one person as something like intensive care. >> okay. >> his home has been outfitted with a loft medical quilt for some time, we know, i guess the bottom line is that people are still cautious, optimistic, hopeful, thankful and grateful for every day he is here. >> nbc's ron allen in johannesburg on a global civil rights icon. ron, thank you. so i. appreciate your reporting on this you have covered nellenson mandela for many, many years. good see you, thanks again. get to our top political headlines now. north korean authorities told foreign diplomats they will not be able to ensure their safety starting next wednesday. staffers however, at this point, appear to be staying put.

this, of course, in the wake of north korea declaring a state of war with south korea last weekend. after two-week easter break, the senate is back in session monday but it will be down a member. democrat new jersey senator frank lautenberg released a statement last night saying he would not return next week. at this point, it is unclear went 89-year-old, who is planning to retire in 2014, will be back. and hillary clinton was in new york yesterday. she spoke at the annual women in the world summit. take a listen. >> we are the richest, most powerful country in the world, yet many american women today are living shorter lives than their mothers, especially those with the least education. that is an historic reversal. the controversial plan b emergency contraceptive will now be available without prescription and without able

restrictions a federal judge friday ordered the food and drug administration to lift restrictions on the so-called morning after pill. nbc's justice correspondent, pete williams, explains. pete? >> reporter: craig, this legal dispute has been going on for eight years and the federal judge finally said enough. this is all about the morning after pill, commonly known as plan b. when it came on the market in 1999, it was available only by prescription. the fda eventually said it could be sold without a prescription to women 17 years and up but only at the pharmacy, not over the counter and anybody buying it had to show a government-issued photo i.d. in 2011, the fda decide it had would lift those restrictions but kathleen second beale yourks the secretary of health and human services intervened and blocked that order. she said it would be too risky to let girls as young as 11 buy the pills. now federal judge edward korman ordered the fda to lift all those restrictions within 30 days. here is what he said in his order.

"this case is not about the potential misuse of planned b by 11-year-olds there, emergency contraceptives would be among the safest drugs sold over the counter around the number of 11-year-olds using these drugs is likely to be minuscule." he said the obama administration was driven by election-year politics not by science or the launch the justice department says it's considering its appeal options and will act promptly but if the government decides not to appeal, then in 30 day, any store that wants to put the plan b pill out on the open shelves could do so. no store would have to be selling them behind the pharmacy counter. and women's group say that is the most important result of this ruling, making the pills available more widely and around the clock at 24-hour drug stores and potentially any store that wants to sell them. craig? >> nbc's pete williams breaking it down for us in washington. pete, thanks. for more on the judge's decision, i want to bring in bill schneider, resident fellow at third waned deputy managing director for politico, rachel

smolingen. good to see you. the judge who overturned this decision was a reagan appointee and gave us a snippet there, but the judge really took administration to task in that decision. what do you make of that? >> the judge was in agreement with prevailing scientific view among both medical specialist and scientists that the pill is safe and effective. the president says, however, restricting the use of the pill for young girls is really a common sense decision. most parents don't want their girl taking an aspirin if they don't know about it. the idea that their daughter can have sexual activity, go to the drugstore and purchase a contraceptive puts a lot of parents off. >> rachel, planned parenthood said "when a woman fears that she might become pregnant after her contraceptive has filed she has had unprotected sex, she needs fast access to emergency contraception, not delays at the

pharmacy counter. lifting these restrictions will allow emergency contraception to be stocked on store shelves, making more accessible to everyone." what do you think at this point is the obama administration likely to do? appeal or not appeal? >> that statement you read, that's from the president's base. making more accessible t

>> congress may be stuck on passing any sort of new gun laws but states are taking action one way or the other. since the newtown shootings, new york, colorado, connecticut, maryland have all passed new laws, tightening restrictions, maryland's law is awaiting the governor's signature. at the same time, georgia, arkansas, all the other states highlighted there, are the states considering loosening gun laws. according to the "wall street journal," bill schneider, 15 states have enacted laws that we can control. what do you make of that? >> the gun lobby is active and prominent on the issue, whenever they feel the threat to gun rights, they are going to make their views known. they have intensity. the question is how much intensity is there on the part of gun controlled a vo cats? enough to get those laws passed in four states, colorado and connecticut have endured terrible instances of gun violence.

>> when you think where we are, to folks who cover politics for life, not surprising at all. how has the nra been able to sustain its intensity? >> these are very tough political issues to have any movement on at all. very difficult to pass anything in congress with the word ban in it. remember, not just republicans versus democrats on this issue, many democrats from red states, from the more conservative states, don't want anything to do with gun control legislation

either. >> have we -- bill, have we in any way, shape or form, have we overstated the influence of the nra and gun owners in this country? >> i don't think so i think they are still a very powerful constituency. what we might be understating, however, is the building intensity on the part of gun advocates. mayor bloomberg is trying to build a movement that counters the nra. fewer american households have guns. i think the changes are likely to favor more gun control. >> thanks to both of you. >> thank you. next, he is calling out the gang of eight on their attempts at immigration reform. we will talk to him late. later, a behind the scenes look at the images of the george w. bush white house unveiled for the very first time.

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after a two-week easter recircumstance the house heads back monday. bipartisan gangs of eight in the house and the senate have been working on agreements that would allow hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers to live and work in the united states. they have been making calls, brokering deals throughout the spring break but not so fast, says one pennsylvania congressman. this week, republican lou bar late ta wrote a letter to the house gang of eight saying, in part, "it seems obvious to most hoosiers you along with your counterparts in the u.s. senate and the white house are far down the path of proposing some form of amnesty for illegal immigrants." is he so vehemently opposed to the forthcoming plan?

congressman barletta joining me from pits ton, pennsylvania. congressman, thank you for joining me on a saturday. why do you feel the immigration reform in the works is so dangerous >> craig, i think the plan both in the senate and the one these been talked about in the house from the house gang of eight will make the problem of legal immigration worse. any time you encourage people to come to the united states legally by offering a pathway to citizenship just like we saw in 1986, the numbers of people that are here illegally will grow by millions. >> congressman, my understanding of the plan is this is not going to apply to future illegal immigrants, this is a plan that is going to apply to the millions of illegal immigrants in the country now. >> the problem with illegal immigration is that many people

or most that are here illegally use false documents when they get here, for $1500 or $3,000, you can get all the documents to say whatever you want them to say. so again, we have just given a green light to people all over the world to come through our open borders, which we admit, our boreders are not secure and provide documents. you can come today, tonight, tomorrow, next week and claim that you've been here since you're 12 years old. we have no way of proving that. so, by -- by attaching a pathway to citizenship to securing our borders really is encouraging people to come here. very simply, at your own home, you wouldn't replace the carpet in your house if you still have a hole in the roof. i believe these proposals are more political than looking at good policy and stopping the problem of illegal immigration. >> in your letter, you wrote multiple times this the information that huff been getting about the immigration plan in the works has been from

news reports. how transparent has this process been? >> i believe some proposals are pretty far down the road. i would not be surprised if when we get back in session negotiation week, we don't see some of the plans in writing. i do know some groups have been meeting. unfortunately, my voice has not been part of those discussions and i believe my experience as the mayor or of hazelton creating the first law -- >> that because your voice, at this point, you think, has become the minority voice even in his own party? >> i believe a will to try to get issue off the table t wouldn't get it off the table. discussing it again five, ten years from now because our boreders are not secure. what i'm asking is before we come forth with any bill or legislation or policy, why can't we all agree let's just secure

our borders first, like we promised the american people 1986 that we would do and we are not. they fooled the american people once in 86, here we are again with at least 11 million. there are 22 million americans out of work. we should not be encouraging millions to come here illegally. >> part of your argument is that illegals are going to come here and steal american jobs? >> that's right. >> i want to go back to one thing you said about securing the borders, neither plan has been unveiled formally, based on what we have seen, based on folks we have talked to it sounds like securing the border is going to be a part of both plans, additional security for the border a part of both plans. they have attached the pathway to citizenship to t basically what you tell people all over the world been waiting is why wait? come here, our borders are open,

come here illegally, you will be given a temporary legal status to stay, you don't have to hide any longer, you can come and in the meantime we are going to figure out how to secure our borders. 40% of the people who came here came on a visa, they expired and no way of tracking them. we have a lot of work to do securing our borders and shouldn't be encouraging people to come here through the illegal process. >> last question really quickly, you mentioned it, being mayor of hazelton, pennsylvania, in 2006, passed a law that pen diocesed employers who hired undocumented workers and landlords renting to them. the law has been overturned. still under review, i understand. what difference is did the law make in the local economy there? >> well, the city that i was mayor of, for example, our population grew by 50% but our tax revenue remained the same.

any time you have pell working for cash and not paying taxes it -- small budgets, small towns. >> isn't that a generalization, what you just said, congressman? >> no, i don't think it is, actually if you look at the heritage foundation they did a study, follow through with the plan the gang of 8 is proposing, allowing 11 million people to work here, stay here, pay taxes -- >> going to work for cash? >> no, no, i'm saying if you're here illegally, it's a fact that many do work -- work for cash and under the table. how else would you explain the fact that our population could grow by 50% but that our tax revenue remained the same? how could that be? >> republican congressman lou barletta, going to leave it there, sir. appreciate you spending time with me. >> thank you. we gathered a panel of experts to dissect what we can expect from the president's

budget next week. first though, we will flashback to the last time this country got to vote for a king. you're watching msnbc, the place for politics. the only thing we'd ever grown together was a record collection. no. there was that fuzzy stuff on the gouda. [ both ] ugh! when it came to our plants... we were so confused. how much is too much water? too little? until we got miracle-gro moisture control. it does what basic soils don't by absorbing more water,

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you get a big delight in every bite of hostess twinkies. >> happy birthday, twinkies, the spongy cream-filled treat went on sale this day in 1930. this is a birthday we almost couldn't celebrate. the beloved treat set to disappear with the liquidation of hostess brands, when personal stockpiles and twinkie ebay prices reached an all-time high, two investment firms swooped in and saved the mighty twinkie. they bought the famed snack from hostess. it's expected to be back on shelves some time this summer.

flashback in 1974 now, when cold war tensions ran high between the united states and the soviet union. both countries had so many nuclear arms than an attack on one would only lead to an equally devastating counterattack on the other. with this mutually assured destruction, the united states and soviet union tried to ease tensions through various agreements, beginning a period of detente during the 1970s. one of the more controversial agreements was limiting missile attacks to military around economic targets. here's what nightly news reported about the negotiation on this day in 1974. >> in january of this year, the secretary of defense announced that the president has a new option. he can order missiles fired at military and economic targets in the soviet union, targets like air fields and oil der risk in remote areas instead of densely populated cities. in return, the united states would expect the russians to limit their nuclear strikes to the same kinds of targets.

but no seen was this announced then the critics formed in congress and elsewhere, saying that retargeting increased the chances of an atomic holocaust. >> concern about nuclear holocaust. that was this day in 1974. here's what also happened on this day in history in 1992. >> priority for this country, meanwhile, deciding which elvis presley should appear on its stamps. the vin table 1950s elvis or the late model 1970s bloated version. starting today and until april 24th, america vote he is at post offices across the country. each ballot will cost 19 cents, but then how often does a democracy get to vote for a king? ♪ return to sender ♪ return to sender ♪ i gave a letter hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land.

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plus that annoying cough. your children's health can affect their gpa. yes, exercise and education go hand in hand. so make sure your kids are active 60 minutes every day. you'll help them feel good and even perform better in school. the more you know. a new development in the trayvon martin case. you remember the florida teenager was fatally shot by

neighborhood watch volunteer, george zimmerman, last february. now the "orlando sentinel" is reporting that martin's parents have settled their wrongful death claim against the homeowner's association that zimmerman volunteered for. the "sentinel" says an agreement has been reached but the dollar amount of that settlement will stay confidential. i'm craig melvin, good saturday. here is a quick look at other top stories making news now. militants killed six americans and an afghan doctor in a pair of attacks in afghanistan today. this marks the deadliest day for the united states in the war in the past eight months. and boeing 787 dreamliners maybe up in the air again soon. the company flew one of the planes for a two-hour test flight yesterday and says it will now analyze those test results. the results will be sent to the faa, who could send the dreamliner back into the skylighter this spring. the 787s were, you might remember, grounded in january after two planes overheated. back to politics. the president unveils his 2014 budget next week.

the president is said to be planning cuts in social security and other entitlements. in his weekly address this week, the president said his proposal wasn't perfect. >> well, it's not my ideal plan to further reduce the deficit, it's comp promise i'm willing to accept in order to move beyond a cycle of short term, crisis-driven decisionmaking. >> but friday morning, attention turned from the budget to jobs, the nation added 88,000 jobs in march, that's compared to 268,000 in february. it was the smallest gain in nine months. jared bernstein is a former economic adviser to vice president joe biden, also an msnbc contributor. katherine rample, "the new york times" editor and noel clemente, the american action forum. good to see all of you. let me start with you, katherine, since i have you here around i have a copy of the "times," i read your article and enjoyed it you said the closely

watched jobs report was discouraging, you called it the spring swoon. why were the numbers so low in was it the payroll tax? was it the sequester? was a combination of these things? what was it? >> doesn't seem like the sequester yet had much of an effect if you look at the changes in government pay rolls we don't know. the hope is that it's just a blip urge the numbers are going to get revised away. but it's very possible that this will be yet another spring in which some momentum that we had seen at the beginning of the year seems to dissipate. >> what's with the spring? >> i don't know, to be honest, a lot of economists i spoke with were befuddled as well. the last couple of years seemed to be driven by international events so we had, you know, flareups in europe, arab spring, the japanese tsunami a couple years ago and that seemed to maybe disrupt things in the united states as well. this year, we don't have those kind of events to blame it on, again, the hope is kind of, well, if it's not the payroll tax, which it might be but we haven't seen that so much in other data, maybe it's just a

blip basically u >> jared, let's look at another number here the unemployment rate essentially unchanged. it dropped from 7.7% to 7.6%. but economists did not find that encouraging either. why not? >> no, it wasn't encouraging because there are two ways the unemployment rate could come down. one is because more people get jobs and the other because more people stopped looking, this was the latter. the labor force shrunk a bunch in march and so you could lower the unemployment rate that way but that's not optimal. in fact, the share of the population participating in the labor force is very low, it's at a three-decade low. i want to comment on one thing katherine said. i think to me, it's somewhat less of a mystery as to why the job market is performing pretty subbar. the economy just hasn't been growing fast enough for a long time. at best, we have hit trend growth and enough to keep things

percolating along. never had the downside of the deep trough of the recession we had earlier periods. as long as gdp is plodding along as it has been, we shouldn't expect growth. you add the fiscal traps on top of that helps us figure out why we are stuck where we are. >> katherine, we start talking about growth and we start talking about structural things, know, e noe noelle, i wanted to come to you. what keeps it from growing? >> a lot of lack of confidence from people dropping out of the labor force and also among businesses who aren't hiring. saw this past week that small businesses think the health care law is the biggest concern coming up and as the implement speeds up, i'm concerned that growth is going to continue to be pretty slow forth rest of the year hand in the coming years. >> let's pivot to the budget now, president obama is supposed to be putting on his budget on

wednesday, katherine. what we know about the budget, cutting entitlements, the first for a democratic president. what do we know about the president's budget proposal? >> talked about things he mentioned in his state of the union speech as being priorities like extending the availability of preschool universally, something in there. >> yeah. >> he talked about in the state of the union, as we can expect this week, further tax increases, potentially to offset only some of the costs of the expansions he wants, those would be both tax increases on the wealthy, also requirements he will be looking at tax increases on things like tobacco and alcohol as well. >> jared, let's look at the budget proposal, president obama again could be the first democratic president to do this to cut social security and medicare benefits. the "washington post," this is what they say about the president's proposal. he embraces a risky strategy of courting republicans for a grand bargain on the debt while angering democratic allies with

cuts to the nation's entitlement programs. is the mt. more likely to alienate his allies or owe pon fwhepts his budget, jared bernstein? >> theoretically it should be his allies because a lot of folks to his left view cutting entitlements as crossing a rubicon that, as you suggested, a democratic president they don't expect him to cross. >> i love your honesty, jared bernstein. noelle, mr. obama, going to resume his charm offensive this week, dining with senate republicans wednesday evening. he is expected to formally introduce his budget that same

day. how ebecktive do we think this round of the charm offensive might be? >> i think from what we have seen so far from this budget proposal if this is the new definition of a grand bargain, then we are redefining what grand means, we got tax increases at the beginning of the year and i think it's great we are all talking on the same page about the fact that redog the debt is the most important thing to do, but now we have to get from some kind of a similar starting line and i hope that having these conversations ask positive and effective, what we have seen so far from the new proposal is a change in rhetoric but not a change in policy. >> craig, can i jump in here? >> yeah. >> i make the point, you know, i don't think that right -- just tying together the two things, what we talked about today, i don't think most americans would agree that lowering the debt is the most important thing we have to do right now. i would think they would think lowering the unemployment rate and increasing the rate of job growth right now. over the longer term, sure, we have to get the budget on a sustainable path, but too much

focus on short-term deficit reduction really deliver letters you to the kind of hysteria that set europe back into recession. >> kathrerine, there's been a lt made about the president's budget plans. from past statements he made, how different is it? >> we haven't seen a budget, so i should say that. >> why i carefully said -- >> we don't actually know. but it sounds like a lot of what's been talked about are things he has floated in the past. these are things he has talked about openly, talked about them with boehner and with other republicans and a public forum as well. i'm into the sure there will be any big surprises, based on what we know, big deviations from what he talked about in the

past. >> thanks to all of you, do appreciate you. >> thank you. next, a sneak peek at a new book which shows a size of 43 we have almost never seen. keep it here. [ kate ] many women may not be absorbing the calcium they take as well as they could because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so.

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it looks like mr. clean has won everything. the cleaning games are finished? and so are we. okay, but i just took a mortgage out on the cabinet. [ male announcer ] clean more, work less, with the mr. clean magic eraser extra power. imagine what's like to sit in the same room as the leader of the free world every day and keep your mouth shut. white house photographer eric draper served with president george w. bush for his entire eight years in office, silently capturing some of the most powerful images and people in the world. his new book is aptly titled "front row seat." he is with me now from santa fe, new mexico. eric, it's good to see you. >> great to be here. thank you, craig. >> what a kind of personal connection does a white house photographer develop with the president? >> well, first of all, president bush knew exactly the role of my

job as the white house five e photographer around that was to be present not only during the official doubt tats of the presidency but also to document the personal side of the presidency. and over time, you develop a very close relationship. i spent a lot of time with the president. very long days and i was always around. i was always there. >> and i also understand, there is an interesting story behind how you became white house photographer for george w. bush. what's that story? >> well, my background -- i was a staff photographer with the associated press and i was assigned to cover the bush campaign back in 2000 and it wasn't until after the election, you might remember the recount. >> yeah. >> well, that's when i decided to pursue the position and i actually had an opportunity to ask for the job personally and it was perfect timing.

governor bush had just become president-elect bush and i was invited with my wife and i to a christmas party in austin, texas. and that's where i took a page out of his playbook, because during the campaign, he would always say i'm going to look you in the eye and ask you for the job, i want to be your president. well, that's what i did. i asked, i said i want to be your personal photographer. >> and that was it? >> it all happened very fast. a week later, i was hired and it all happened very quickly. >> you were with president bush on september 11th. you were with him during katrina. you were with him when he met barack obama for the first time, historic moments. what kind of pressure is there to get every frame, knowing that it's not going to happen again? >> well, i tried not to think about it in the moment. i really tried to use my background in photo journalism to just focus on capturing the

moment. a lot of times, there really wasn't time to react to things, think about things, i just had to react and then there's some moments i did have time to think about what i wanted to say in the photograph. >> for you, what is the most memorable photo that you snapped? >> i think the images on 9/11 i think stand out to me in my mind as the most dramatic. very intense day, very emotional and those images, the entire day the entire week following 9/11 the days, especially the home at ground zero, september 14th, those are the days that stood out in my mind, those images. >> president bush wrote the foreward for the book, i have here, and it's -- i tell you, it's a -- it's a big book. there are a lot of pictures in here.

he wrote the foreward, have you heard from him since you finish it had? have you heard from the president and if so, what did he say about it? >> well, you know, the first copies are being shipped this week answered should be saying it any day now. but i see him a lot. i do a lot of work for the bush center. i do a lot of work in preparation for the opening of the library in just a couple of weeks the. >> you are the first white house photographer in history to serve from beginning to end and you were with george w. bush for eight years. you are mentioned you do work with him in the library, what's your relationship with him like now? >> we are friends, i tried help him with his initiatives and causes during his postpresidency. >> yeah. >> and it's always great to see owe and mrs. bush whenever i have the opportunity. >> one of the images that

strikes me, inflipped through here this morning, pictures of barney if theth in book, the president's dog recently died and recent come to light the president is apparently quite the painter of dogs. you got a lot of shots of bush and barney, how did his demeanor change when animals were around? >> the president loved barney. he called barney the son he never had. and any -- any time those moments would happen, yeah, he would definitely perk up, barney would lighten the mood of the day and there was also ms. beasley, the other scottish terrier. those private moments were the most enjoying -- for me to enjoy documenting the presidency because they were unscripted. they were surprises. to be there to i will plus straight, document the personal side of the presidency what i enjoy the most. >> eric draper snapped nearly 1

million pictures during the eight years busch george w. bush was president. thank you so much, sir, again, it's fantastic book, whatever your politics. thanks again. up next, i will catch up with louisville cardinals kevin ware after that gruesome injury that took him off the court. we are going to talk about the cost of being a college athlete in this country. you are watching msnbc, the place for politics. email marketing from constant contact reaches people in a place they're checking every day -- their inbox.

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. like i'm always trying to do, jumped too high, didn't see where i was coming down, didn't know how fast i was coming down, didn't get a chance to gatherer myself and looking at coach's eyes kind of gave it away. >> i kind of looked away and was talking. we us at a friend's house and looked back up at the screen and i see everybody on the floor. i'm like, who got hurt? because regardless of who's playing, i cringe because that's somebody's child, you know.

but wheng i found out it was mine, it was devastating. >> how are you doing? >> good. i'm a lot better. all the support i've been getting really means a lot. >> what happens if the doctors say, you know what, kevin, something is, you know not right, you can't play basketball anymore? then what? what do you do. >> start talking to my god again. >> that's not the god we serve. >> that's all i can say honestly. >> that was kevin ware there. i spent some time with him earlier this week. he will be on the sidelines tonight as his cardinals take on wichita state. that gruesome injury and the remarkable spirit has camp vated if country but it's also sparked a conversation about student athletes. andrew is a sports column myth.

what happens to injured college players who aren't kevin ware? if they lose their scholarship after an injury or later in life when they face medical bills related to an injury they sustained in college. >> they don't get coverage later in life. this is catastrophic coverage in a small number of athletes but basically they're on their own. >> adidas pulled a t-shirt. the t-shirt was being sold for 20 bucks. it features rise to the occasion but the s in rise was shaped by ware's number five. they don't see a dime from apearl sales. but the fact was this campaign wasn't stopped, was that something that was us unprecedent nd and unusual for the ncaa. >> no the ncaa for a long time hads sanctioned the use of athd

leet's names for commercial purposes. they ar not supposed to do that but they do do it. now there's a suit in southern california that challenges those practices. it's interesting that the ncaa defines am turism in its own way. the amu allows amateur athletes to receive comp pen sigs. the usga with golf amateurs allows that as well. they had defined it in a way that's evolving and more fing and they don't allow the athletes to receive any compensation for publicity rights. >> walk us through the 0 ban nonv.ncaa lawsuit and what that could mean for college sports and especially college athletes. >> so there are a bunch of lawsuits that were brought together under the banner of 0 ban non. and the lawsuits are basically

arguing that college athletes should be able to receive compensation for their publicity rights. most of the athletes to whom this applies are already out of college. they're not amateur athletes anymore. they're previous amateur athlet athletes. thoeds former ncaa players who now play professional sports they're allowed to receive when they lead to their college life. but when you leave the ncaa and go on to a nonsports job we're not allowed to receive that. they're looking for compensation. >> andrew really quickly before i let you get out of here. are we witnesses a sea change in this country when it come to the idea of compensating athletes. >> i think it's an interesting question. when you talk about limiting amateurism lock stock and barrel we're pulling the foundation out of college spors.

it's one thing to talk about a reform that modifies the definition of amateurism. it's another thing to talk about undoing it and a complicated thing at that. >> i would love for you to come back at some point. when e come back we'll get the latest from north korea. ♪

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we have said from the outset that we want newtown to be known not for our tragedy but for transformation and this law marks the ge going of that turning point. >> a mother searches for hope. good saturday to you. i'm craig mel vin. you're watching ms nbc. the place for politics. hill rin clinton, an -- was the

president out of line in miz comments about attorney general in california? reactions from that have been varied. we'll see what the brain trusts thinks. but we'll start on the korean peninsula. tensions remain high there auz the united states tries to figure out north korea's next move. there seems to be a distinct difference in the crisis today. jim, what's different there now? >> reporter: hi, craig. well for the first time since this latest crisis began in february, the opposing side seemed to be stepping back from the brink. we've heard no new threats from the north korean leader today or from his government. the peninsula is still on a war footing. the north has at least two massive though still untested missiles in their launchers and pointing east, in the direction

of perhaps guam or even closer u.s. bases in japan. meanwhile both the u.s. and south korea are tracking the north's every move on those destroyers just of korea's coast. the u.s. is trying to dial it down. the show of force flyovers are stopped. they're not seeing the f 22 super fighters, for instance as part of those ongoing war games appearing in the skies. there's even talk again of diplomacy. the south koreians are looking for a special enjoy to send to the north to try to reengage with them and secretary of state john kerry is expected to be looking for new approach to north korea when he travels here in the region next week. so it does feel like everyone is taking a breather today. but craig, we've got to ask, how

long can that last. >> jim, thanks. to our political head lines now, after a three-hour flight delay, john kerry is on his way overseas. he's planning to visit london, ba jing and tokyo. >> activists calling for the release of convicted spy are planning to hold a protest individual gill outside secretariry kerry's hotel monday night. >> the fbi paid a visit -- still investigating whether his former mistress ever had improper access to classified information. >> and the new york times magazine has reportedly landed an exclusive interview with anthony weaner and his wife. weaner has put more than a

hundred,000 dollars into a possible run for mayor of new york city. >> president obama is heading to talk about stricter gun legislation. republicans plat to filibuster reform. peter alexander is at the white house with more on this on a saturday afternoon. how is the white house responding to the rising number of republicans trying to block the legislation. >> reporter: it is expected that these new gun bills will be brought to the floor, harry reid, specifically next week or perhaps the week after that. but right now the new resistance, the new opposition is sort of colesing behind a filibuster that's ramping up behind rand ball. there's a dozen on board with this effort. the try to give you a better understanding of the resistance that the white house is with

standing right now. since newtown has taken place five states have passed stricter again control but 17 states have passed laws that weak end the gull control in their communities. it shows you exactly what the white house is up against. the president will return to the community not far from newtown. heading to hartford. in attendance expected to be some of the families, the relatives of those that were killed at sandy hook elementary school. just a couple of days ago we did hear from dan five esh speaking on behalf of the president that the president would be willing to sign most any law that was present than the stronger gun laws that exist right now. but the real challenge, the whale holdup seems to exist around background checks and record keeping more specifically as it relates to private scales. >> peter alexander from 1600 pennsylvania for us on a

saturday. pete, thanks. meanwhile, connecticut this week became the third state since the newtown tragedy to enact tougher gun lemg las vegas. connecticut new law restricts high capacity magazines and it requires background checks for all gun purchases. richard lumen that will is the state's former attorney general. it's good to see you. >> thank you. >> the gof signed the state's new gun law on thursday. you ooh eve been in newtown dins the december shooting there. what did it mean to you to see a bipartisan agreement in the state. >> it is really a model for what we need to do in washington. bring different with people with different views so we reach common ground. the law in connecticut stracks dr closely what we need to do in

washington, banning straw purchases, strengthening school safety and mental health issues and background checks system which would not only be extended to private purchases, like the gun shows, but also would strengthen the data and the information going into that database. so i think it is a multifacet i.d. comprehensive strategy including ban on assault weapon and high capacity magazines. >> let's talk about what happened in washington, d.c. since newtown. are you at all angry? are you annoyed? are you confused even by your colleagues at the capitol? i'm still new to washington so needless to say there are moments of confusion. but i'll tell you very seriously, i think we're going through a debate and hopefully

votes in a changed america. america was changed by newtown, just as newtown was a turning point. so connecticut new law i hope will be a turning point as well and put us on a track with greater momentum. the president's visit come sbiend with his organizing and our effort to galvanize bring to america that silent majority. there there is no question that a majority of americans want the background checks and want a ban on illegal trafficking. it's simply a matter of bringing that majority to bare. >> you mengsed you're new to washing top. the national rifle association congress nal operation is so effective that one of the critics, senator bloomen that will signed on as a supporter of the background check bill.

you withdrew your support. walk me how this came about. >> i saw this bill sponsored by senator gram as a potential vehicle or platform to a bipartisan agreement and a way to strengthen the information going into the background system it depends on information coming from the states. we need to make sure that all of the information and records about people with serious mental illness are part of that system. an unfortunately there are grave defects and falgs in that bill that i came to see were unresolvable. i sought to reach an agreement but eventually i think that the unintend nd consequences of that bill would be very grave and serious. so i would actually oppose the bill in its present form. >> among the provisions in connecticut new laws is one that restricts high capacity

magazine. wayne lapiera pa -- ho do you respond. >> for the first time in a decade we have an opportunity to break the strange l hold of the nra and other special interests on progress. and there's no question that some or all of those beautiful to children and six great educators might be alive today. we can't know for sure. but the high capacity magazine with 30 rounds enabled the shooter to continue the killing. an when he had to change magazines, anywhere from six to is children managed to escape. the same by the way is true in tucson where marc kelly testified that the young girl, christina taylor was killed by the 13th bullet. a limitation to ten rounds would

have earned ended the killing. the assault weapon, the high capacity magazines make a difference in enabling more people to be killed more quickly and that's the reason we need to ban them. >> you alluded to a statistic and so did peter, 90% of folks in this country say that they support yunl background checks. we have seen a number of other polls that say they support restriction of high capacity magazine clips as well. why is there such a kazment of what folks say they want and what elected leaders in washington, d.c. appear to be willing to do. why have you and your advocates not been able to seemingly close that gap in the last few months. >> craig, you've just asked the key question that perplexes and vexes me literally every day. why is a silent majority not heeded and heard in washington.

maybe because it is more silent or not as volvo call or vie meant on that passionate -- on the single issue to express and maybe vote. so i think that the answer will be provided in the next few weeks or months as we address the issue. and i'm hoping we can disprove the con venl wisdom that the nra seems to prevail. i've been one of the main advocates of the assault weapon here in connecticut, the saup ban and defended it at court at the trial level and the appellate level. so i know how significant the nra can be. we can break that strange l hold and i'm hopeful that we will, bringing that out that silent majority and hoping it's not so silent. >> i always injoy your time, sir. thank you we've got some new

developments here. nelson man deal la is now resting at home after being discharged from the hospital earlier today. mandela was being treated for few moania. mandela will continue to receive care at home. nelson mandela spent 27 years in prison before his release in 1990. we're all going to pot. a new survey shows dramatically changing attitudes on smoking. >> also can the president call a political figure good looking and get away with it, especially if she's a woman? a resounding no according to a lot of folks. ♪ [ instrumental ] [ boy ] i used to hate eating healthy stuff.

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. when women participate in the economy, everyone benefits. when women participate in peacemaking and peace keeping, we are all safer and more secure. and when women participate in the politics of their nations, they can make a difference. she's back. that's hillary clinton addressing the women in the world forrum yesterday. it was her second big speech this week ramping up speculation asht a potential run for president in 2016. tuesday she appeared with vice president joe biden at an event in washington. also this week we heard clinton is writing a new book about her experiences secretary of state. and now a new super pack ready

for hillary. getting some high profile support from former bill clinton campaign manager, car value. he was a key adviser for hillary. she joins me now live from d.c. i want to start with what car vel said here yesterday. take a listen. >> she's the most compelling interesting person on the political scene right now that has any chance to run for president. that's why we're spending a lot of time talking about it. we're going to continue talking about it and she is not going to make up her mind probably until after midterm. >> he's sending out e-mail on behalf of the super pack to raise money. what does car vel's support mean to hillary clinton's potential run. >> he's been a good supporter, and friend. he's an old friend of mind and i haven't talked to him about this but he's right, in the concept

that secretary hillary is a compelling figure. i am forever grateful for the service she's given and the role they're play in the future however she chooses to serve. that's what we need to focus on, the fact that she's a leader regardless of what office or title she holds. when she gives a speech, people listen. when he stands up for a cause or something she believes in, she gets their attention. she's not afraid to serve. i think that's what's really important. >> he says, in part, quote, conservatives has spent two decades trying to destroy clinton. they've only helped make her the most important woman in america. they're going to make her president. >> well i think people who make mistakes shouldn't make the same mistake twice. so i think republicans ought to focus on what it is they they they can do for the country.

that's how they'll succeed. they're not going to succeed on the politics of the destruction of hillary clinton or anyone else. think think they learned that in this last campaign. >> this is biden, take a listen. >> yeah. >> there's no woman like hillary clinton. hillary clinton, that's a fact -- >> how patient with joe biden and the rest of the democrat field be in the next eye or so until we get definitive word on whether clinton is running. >> biden is a seasoned politician, he's run for president and vice president. every individual who considers running for president has to make a decision for themselves on their own time clock. and when they do that they tend to make good decisions, smart decisions about themselves an the role they'll play in america politics. anybody who is interested in

running should take a long hard look at it and see how they could serve. not every decision in american po politics is related to hillary clinton and at some point people are going to have to take responsibility for their own decisions. >> sf she asked you would you go back and work for her in a 2016 bid. >> i would stand up for her it's running for president or any other capacity. >> bill wasn't always helpful in the last race, that remark about obama's candidacy being a bit of a fairy tale. what role might bill clinton play in 2016. >> bill clinton is a great advocate for the american people. i worked for him when he was the chairman of the political council. he's a great advocate for people who don't have their own voice

and that involvement in any campaign is a boost not only for the people he represents but the people he respects in that conversation. >> senior adviser to hillary's 2008 and possibly her 2016 presidential -- today we remember the loss of one of our own here at nbc, david bloom died ten years ago today. this is how we covered his shocking death that day. >> it's still hard to believe though shocking and heartbreaking we have lost a member of the family today. david bloom one of the best and bright ets in tv period died as so la dead said this morning, he had been reporting from the army's third division giving us thrilling images and front rate reporting from the front lines of this war. >> there was in everything he did a sense of argumency. david bloom knew that it

mattered and he made sure you knew it too. >> this sand storm has been pounding the troops here in the 315 infantry. >> spontaneous, candid, sometimes breathless sometimes on target hep was dazzling on his feet and unfailing human. >> the tank driver of that m 1 a 1 abrams tank that you see behind he there, he found out a couple hours ago that his wife air ka had a baby about two weeks ago. i'm going to give him the head shet and let him talk to his wife. namely, other humans. which is why at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance.

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a quick look at changes in attitude in a changing america. survey says we now prefer to live together before we tie the knot. the centers for disease control say women, almost half of them

have chosen cohabitation. when it comes to pop we have seen a sea change in the past few years. a poll find that 52% asked, half of all americans now think that marijuana should be legal. that's a first and it's up is points from just two years ago. still ahead, the brain trust is here. we'll talk about the president's budget and gender politics as well. don't forget if it's saturday, i crown one of them biggest brain. ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air.

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brainiacs. we sere starting with some breaking new concerning pastor rick warn. if prop you lar minister. pastor warn's son, math you warn has committed suicide.

pastor warn delivered the invocation in 2009. his son had been struggling with mental illness for some time. math you warn was 27. the state department now confirms that one civilian bloi eye was killed in the eastern afghanistan region today. three more americans, all of them u.s. troops were killed in a separate incident in southern afghanistan. all of this comes hours of the chairman of the chief of staff martin dempsey arrived to visit troops in afghanistan. >> a new strain of the bier flu keeps developing in china. u.s. officials say there have been no reported bird flu cases in america. >> poip francis says the church needs to work harder to stop abuse. the church needs to act decisively to prevent and punish priests who sexually abuse

children. the pontiff says stopping the abuse will, quote, help the church and its credibility. time now for the brain trust and before i bring the trustees in. i want to introduce the awe yens to the biggest brain at the end of our discussion here in a few minutes. i will crown the biggest brain. we judge it on the contributions to the conversation and some other things as well. the person will have a minute to share what's on their brain today. it's quite kpes tif and it's quite compelling television as well. stick around for this. first, though, what's on my brain this afternoon, it's the third rail of politics. the president is proposing a new budget that makes cuts to sz and medicare while once again raising taxes for the wealthiest americans. no one seems happy about it. dana, also an misnbc contributor

and amy holmes. good saturday to all of you. >> thanks, craig. >> amy, we'll start with you. perry we don't get to have you in person a lot. >> his brain could not be contained. >> couple weeks back, i don't know if you remember this you suggested an april fool's day headline on the brain trust, here's the headline, quote, the president finally submitted his budget. your wish will come true this tuesday. the president is going to release the budget. what do you make of his naming? well four years late. he's offered budgets that have never got an single vote. i think the timing is interesting because it comes after the house republican budget and yet it pleases neither side. we've seen harry reid pushing back. he has no intention of the

consumer index being linked to medicarened and social security. the president wants to raise taxes. house republicans say that's a nonstarter. it's interesting timing and sbreging politics. >> if you look at the senate budge, this budget is somewhere between those fringe budgets. >> this has the right critics so far. people on the left who the president would say are probably too far to the left, republicans who he doesn't agree with also saying there should not be a tax increase. it's pretty much in the middle. i'll be curious to see if it has some support. also on the cpi thing, a lot of people have said they don't like it. i think this can get more currency than you saw yesterday. >> let's talk about the cpi, the change index that the president wants to reconsider which would effectively lower benefits for sz and medicare and medicaid.

president obama could very well become the first democrat president in history to cut social security and medicare. if this goes through. we're talking about the third rail of politics here, dana mill back. what would be the long-term effect for the democrat party if he does this. >> before i answer i want to say i think you are brilliant and dedicated and by far the best looking, the best looking cable news host in american. >> we can end the competition right now. >> so, now, as for this budget, you know, the president was getting criticized from boehner and the republicans for year for coming out with a nonserious budget. he's coming out with a serious budget and boehner is criticizing it again. i think at that point the president was deserve edly criticized for not being serious. he's being serious. he's trying to get the debate going. some on the left are saying he's

starting out where it wants to end up. he's not negotiating. he tried that and he's never got there. i think it's a brave thing to do by doing the cost of living adjustments and putting medicare in the mix. >> how serious is it, though, when republicans are already said for the past three months, going on four months that the last tax increase that happened after that whole fiscal cliff negotiation was the last tax increase this president is going to see and yet he is snow deciding that tax reform has to do with raising taxes. >> but i think the other part of this and i think dana allude ud to it -- all sensible person in this country relizes that some ie justments are going to have to be made to our entitlement programs. one of the things i find curious is social security is not a tremendous driver of debt or deficits in this country. >> if you look at the kus that he's proposing, most of them is in medicare.

medicare is a big cost driver and $500 billion are in the medicare. 100 billion have in social security. you could argue about whether that's a good idea or not, any cuts on that. but he has focused most of it on the health care spending. that's where the real drive and debate is, can you raise the medicare age. that will be another issue as well if it happens. >> dana i want to ask you about something you wrote this week. president obama wrote he plans to give up 5% of his salary in support of the federal furloughed workers. you wrote basically that's not enough. what more do you think that the president and other members of congress should be doing. >> i give him some credit for making a token gesture. folks on the hill are not doing anything to show the solidarity of people who are going to be losing their jobs. 5% of his salary, 20,000 dollars, he's worth many

millions of dollars. he's going to be able to earn tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars. he should give it to you because you're the best looking cable host in america. >> pretty you don't know me well. i'm a pretty shallow guy. let this be a lesson to both of you. up next, was it a compliment or sexist. we'll be asking the brain trust. i'm going to chime in as well. i don't usually get involved but this is one that -- brain trust coming back. [ shapiro ] at legalzoom, you can take care of virtually

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attorney general kamala. he caught a lot of flak for commenting on her appearance dfl during the i vent he told the crowd, quote, he is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough and she is exactly what you would want in anybody who is administering the law and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake. he also happens to be by far the best looking attorney general in the country. back with me now, the brain trust. amy, i want to start with you because your perspective on this is going to be a tad more unique than that of perry and dana's. >> i think they're good looking. >> this is james carville, this is james carville yesterday on misnbc. take a listen. >> i'm a 68-year-old guy and i do notice honestly the way that women look sometimes, but you got to learn to sort of keep your opinions to yourself.

i doubt he'll do it again. not the worst thing that ever happened. >> so again the president called to personally 0 apologize to his long-time friend. has this been blown out of proportion. >> i think this has been blown off of the planet. this is silly. i would wish the president would think i was good looking. i would wish he could name he and called me later to apologize. this woman has gotten a lot of adeposition because she is an attractive woman. >> how surprised are you at the backlash. >> i'm a little surprised. i thought it was a dumb thing to say because it's on warehouse you would get this sort of reaction. i don't think it's catastrophic. it's not like he made a comment on a part of her anatomy. i don't see how why it was necessary to call to apologize. had he said he was the ugliest, i can see the apology. but we may have overdone it a bit much. >> this is president obama

talking about men as well. i want to play this and talk it on the otherwise. >> secretary of housing and development, sean don van, the good looking guy in the front. interior secretary is in the house. he's the guy in the nice-looking hat. not only does it look good but it protects his hair but the hair has gotten a little thin up there. he is a good looking guy. >> i want to thank our secretary of the navy, ray may vis who is here. there he is right there, the good looking guy right there. >> president obama clearly appreciates a good looking person. >> that's true. i read this yesterday and i was shock. he had no idea he had talked about these people being good looking. let's be honest, you're a man you can speak different about different men, it's's funny and clever. but when you're talking about a

woman, it's the wrong thing to say. i agree it's been overblown but he shouldn't have said it. >> was it the wrong thing to say? yes, craig, it still was the wrong thing to say. >> it was in a private home. it wasn't from the west winning. all of the feminists who defended bill clinton for far more egregious behavior -- what could i be discussing? now we have people arguing about this it. seems silly. >> the ceo of the company shouldn't be calling women good looking. craig is very good looking. >> if he calls men good looking too, does that not help? it's different. >> i get you point but i do think that sometimes we can be a tad hyper sen tifs. i agree, especially since we know they're friend. he's very respectful of her.

they have a long relationship. >> there may be perhaps another interesting element to this conversation. a l.a. times kol clum nis, this is the quote. who wrote this thing? this is from robin epicurean. >> i've always said that former alaska governor had looked like margaret thatcher no one would have given a rip what he had to said nor put her on the presidential district. also said the president and mitt romney had an advantage when it comes to looks as well. what is the role of physical beauty in politics. >> if she had been a little bit more like margaret thatcher we might have taken her more seriously in the depate, not because of the way she looks but the things that came out of her mouth. but instead she's at cpac talking about her gun rack. this is the part of the politics that we can't deny that's always

going to be there. you can't quantify what part looks plays in our politics but nine times out of ten the better looking candidate is going to win. that's human nature. >> what business are you in? >> we're in the same business. >> but i mean, there are lots of people on television now, especially since there are 400 channels that aren't great looking. that's not a rereck sit for television. >> i don't think that having good looks is a prerequisite for being successful in politics. go to washington. have you been? a lot has to be being relatable and how that comes across to voters. >> the good looking pards are up there in new york but the brains are here in washington. >> dana is -- >> he's on fire today. >> we actually found a brain that oddly is detachable, which is kind of weird.

we've got the actual trophy we're going to give to the biggest brain in just a moment. dana was talking about d.c. being ugly and we all know that. >> i didn't put it that way. how about average. >> i'm not sure i agree with any of it. if you look at the house members who aren't on tv. goo go up to the senate, more tall looking guys, the president. >> karl live vin, what. >> he is retiring and would not be elected president for that reason alone. >> look at the people who ran for president last time, paul ryan, joe biden, barack obama, i think they and their wives -- i think that is an advantage. and and i think if you're a short man that wants to be president, that's going to be challenging for you. the taller candidate always wins the presidential election. >> he's also not going to be

president. >> but one could argue that michael bloomberg is a decent looking good. >> is this really the conversation you want to be having? yes, because -- >> i agree if if that's the point we're making here sfl you seem to disagree, which i find odd. >> i guess 15 years in washington, d.c. and seeing this monthly assortment of folks who have been successful, i don't think people are putting newt gingrich posters on their walls but yet he became speaker. >> dana, before we get out of here since we have gone to the dogs, i do want to put up the buzz list. they came up with 13 hottest attorney generals. this is the list, ken couch themly, it also called kamala harris the best looking attorney general. did the men get the shaft here?

>> i don't know. >> i love it. >> you know the ag in attorney general stands for aspierg governor. so when you want to move your way up in politics you've got to be a good looking fellow. i think even newt gingrich amy has some charms. >> did he said newt gingrich was attractive. >> he didn't quite say that. >> we'll take ten points off of dana for that. >> when we come back the biggest brain. we'll crown the brain iac ou while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day

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now as promised much to amy holmes sha zbrin -- did you see the look she just gave you. >> i did. >> the biggest brain this week, they get a moment, the person that's been crowned the biggest brain -- >> i think it's going to say

more about you than the brain if you fell for it. did you fall for it? this is why dana milbank gets it. not because he was so kind and complimentary, but because of the fantastic points that he made. >> which were? and also because she' kiend and complimentary. i'll ship tight you, mr. milbank. >> it's a con that las vegas price because i'm the least good looking. >> take it away, my friend. the floor is yours. what do you have. >> my friend david queue was an original conservative. when president -- david was inspired as many of us were and he helped create the new white house base. bush was eerg to apiece the right -- david became a source of mine and i reported on the bait and swach of bush's

conservatism. in between david crashed his car and doctor's found a brain tu more. in his years of writing since then he never stopped praeching his believe that fellow conservatives should take greater interest in the lest of all of us david asked a favor. do something outrageous sclb, give way more than reasonable to a homeless person, take the family out for ice cream and only serve ice cream, all someone who you hurt and ask forgiveness. j. david quo david last night of brain cancer. he was 44. >> thank you so much. i would encourage folks to take a look at that obituary. it's on the washington post website. i didn't know this until i read the obituary. david was, he sort of turned it around as well. where he ended up in terms of

his philosophy is not where he started. >> no he was a liberal at tufts university and borkd worked for ted kennedy and saw the error of his ways as amy might say and became a compassionate conservative but he stayed true to the compassion through and through. >> that position nate conservatism is that something that still exists. >> absolutely. a lot of conservatives would say conservatism is inherently compassion nate. david was a lovely person. >> amy holmes, we'll leave it there. dana mill bang, when you're here, the chair is yours. and we're shipping this to dana mill bang. >> you've need a lot of makeup. >> he's on fire today. >> he is on fire today. >> that's why he's the biggest brain. he's quick. that's our show on saturday afternoon. afternoon. join me tomorrow 3:00 eastern. we've all had those moments.

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